The Girl In The Forest
by tomanyfandomstoname
Summary: When Merlin and Arthur find a young girl in the forest, fluff ensues. NO SLASH- SHORT CHAPTERS. Also, I know the title sucks. I'm sorry.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey Lovelies,**

**This is my first Merlin fic so please please please review. The boys may be slightly OOC, but I wasn't sure. I set this somewhere between S2 and S3. Also, I apologize if the chapters are a little short, I didn't want to write so much that it gets to the point of rambling!**

**XOXO,**

**Mack**

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><p>Prince Arthur and Merlin made their way through the forest, after an impromptu hunting trip. "I can't believe how big that deer was!" Arthur exclaimed gleefully. Merlin just smiled and nodded his head. "And I couldn't believe the look on your face when you saw it running towards you!" Arthur continued. "You would have been startled if you turned and saw a large animal running at you at full speed!" Merlin spat out. Arthur just laughed. It was a long ride home and Merlin already knew that it wasn't going to be as peaceful as he had hoped. Trying to change the subject, Merlin, knowing full well that it might get him killed, turned to Arthur and said "so how's it going with Gwen?" "Oh, shut up, Merlin!" Arthur exclaimed. "Because you know..." Merlin continued, hoping to keep the subject away from him. All he got in return was a death glare. "I just mean that..." before Merlin could continue, he heard crying coming from the somewhere in the trees.<p>

"Did you hear that?" Merlin said as he turned towards Arthur. "Hear what?" Arthur asked. "I don't know..." Merlin said, "it almost sounded like crying." "Crying? When?" Arthur asked suspiciously. "Just now. I think it came from over..." Merlin pointed his finger down the path "there!" "You're probably just hearing things again..." Arthur said, and started to ride again. Merlin followed, but this time, the two stayed silent. A few minutes, they heard the noise again. "Please tell me you heard it this time!" Merlin exclaimed. "You were right, I heard it too." Arthur said looking around for the source of the noise. Arthur got off his horse and withdrew his sword. Merlin followed suit, and soon the two were walking down the path, Arthur with his sword and Merlin walking behind him holding all the other weapons. The pair were dead silent, the only noise coming from the surrounding animals. As they walked, the crying got louder and louder until they reached a clearing. In it were logs laid out in the form of a circle, as you might see at a campground, with a burnt out fire in the middle. Arthur stepped over one of the logs and bent down to touch the ashes. "No one has been here in a while" Arthur said. He stood up and looked around. "Where do you think it was coming from then? The crying, I mean. It just... stopped" Merlin asked. "Well..." Arthur began, but as he turned to face Merlin, he stopped. "Oh." He said with a surprised look on his face. "What is it?!" Merlin exclaimed. He ran and tried to jump over a log, but caught his foot on a knot and fell to the ground. When Merlin opened his eyes, he saw that there was a young girl curled up beside the end of the log across from his own.

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><p><strong>So,<strong>

**That chapter may have been a little short, but it seemed like a logical place to stop (and I did warn you!).**

**Reviews are as important to me as singing in he shower,**

**Mack**


	2. Chapter 2

As Merlin tried to get up, Arthur bent down so that he was at eye level with the curled up girl. She couldn't have been more than 13, and had long curly brown hair. "Hello" He said trying not to scare the girl away. The girl lifted her head up from her knees long enough to look at the two, and then went back to crying. "We mean you no harm, I assure you. I am Prince Arthur of Camelot, and this is my servant, Merlin. What's your name?" Arthur asked, trying to look gentle. Once again, the girl looked up. "Kaitie" she said. Arthur could tell she was still petrified. "What are you doing out here all by yourself?" he asked her. She just began to cry again. "OK..." Arthur said. Merlin brought over a pouch of water. "Here" he said, as he handed the water to the girl. She looked up, took the pouch and took some small sips. The girl began to shiver. Arthur gave her his cape. "You must be cold" he said. The girl smiled. They were starting to win here over. "Should I go collect wood for a fire?" Merlin asked. "That would be up to Kaitie" Arthur said with a wink in Kaitie's direction. Kaitie smiled and looked at Merlin "No, I'm fine thank you." She said. It seemed as if she were beginning to calm down. "Did you say you were from Camelot?" She asked turning to Arthur. "Yes I did. We were just on our way there when we happened upon you. Would you like to accompany us, M'lady?" Arthur asked, giving her his prize winning smile. "O...Okay" she stuttered. "Can you ride?" Arthur asked. "Normally I'm a very good rider, but I hurt my ankle running down this hill and I can't even stand now" she said, beginning to cry again. "Shhh... Shhh..." Arthur said while wiping the tears away. "There is no need to cry. You shall just ride with me then." The two smiled. "The horses aren't too far back. I can carry you to them and then Merlin can help me lift you up. Does that sound okay?" Arthur asked, smiling. "I... I think that would work" Kaitie responded, smiling back at him. Kaitie and Arthur spoke the entire walk to the horses, as Merlin walked behind them carrying all the weapons. When they reached the horses, Merlin lifted Kaitie onto the back of Arthur's horse just as planned. "Hold on tight!" Arthur said to Kaitie. And soon the three were off.

The three reached Camelot in no time. Arthur jumped off his horse and held his hands out to Kaitie. She slid down and gracefully fell into his arms, laughing the entire time. "What a beautiful castle!" she exclaimed, her voice filled with glee. "Why, thank you!" Arthur replied happily as he lifted her off his horse. As the three made their way up the castle steps, Merlin could see that Kaitie had already won Arthur over, and him, her. "We should really have Gaius look at her ankle" Merlin said. Arthur looked at him "Well then why don't you go get him?" Merlin nodded his head. As he turned to walk towards Gaius's quarters, he heard Kaitie call him and turned around. "Merlin?" she said "Please tell Mr. Gaius that it is only a sprain and the all it needs is ice and a tensor bandage. If he wishes to come an check on me, then tell him that his visit is welcomed, but otherwise I can do it myself, as I do not want to waste his time" she said with a smile. "Yes, M'lady" he said, smiling back. She was starting to win him over too. "Oh, and Merlin?" Arthur called out as he began to turn around "Yes, sire?" Merlin asked "when you get whatever is needed, you can find us in my chambers." he said "Yes, sire." Merlin responded. The three then parted ways, and Merlin went to find Gaius.


	3. Chapter 3

Arthur helped Kaitie limp into his room. He then picked her up, set her on the bed and sat down beside her while they waited for Merlin. "So, can you tell me what happened now?" Arthur asked, trying not to seem like he was dying for the truth. "Do I have too?" Kaitie asked, looking up at him with big, puppy dog eyes. Arthur pretended to think about it for a minute then nodded his head. "Well... okay" she said reluctantly. "My village was attacked. A large army came at us out of nowhere and within a matter of hours, the entire city had been destroyed. My parents, the Princess, the King and Queen, and I all managed to escape with the few remaining guards. On our way to the closest village, we were attacked by bandits. The King, Queen, my parents, and the knights all fought the men, but screamed at Lily and me to run. We've been best friends since before I can remember and... and I..." "You what? What happened?" Arthur asked. "I LOST HER" Kaitie started to cry again, this time louder than the last. "Shhhh..." Arthur said, trying to comfort her "I'm sure she's fine". "No you don't understand! It was my job to protect her and I didn't!" no matter what Arthur did, Kaitie would not stop crying. "Tell me what happened" he said, trying to keep her calm enough to talk. "We...we were running away when one of the bandits jumped in front of us. We screamed and tried to get away, but he caught a hold of me. I told Lily to run and not look back, and I think that's what she did. I'm not sure, I was too busy hitting the bandit that had a hold of me. One of the knights came to my rescue and slit his throat, but had to stay and help to others, so he told me to run. I ran down the hill as fast as I could but I tripped over a tree branch and sprained my ankle. I couldn't run anymore so I just hid and hoped someone would find me and help." she said with a small smile. Arthur smiled back at her "Well you're safe now. And as soon as we have that ankle fixed up, I will send out a search party for your friend Lily." Arthur said calmly. He was sure that this was the right thing to do in the situation. "No!" Kaitie practically screamed in his ear, the horror in her voice so obvious that he was scared that he had hurt her ankle in some way. "I emmust /emcome with you! Lily won't come out of wherever she may be hiding if I'm not there. She won't trust you. Not after what happened." Kaitie looked down to the bed covers, a sad look on her face, her eyes welling up with a fresh set of tears. Just as Arthur was about to comfort her again, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" Arthur said. He saw Kaitie wipe her tears from the corner of his eye as he watched Merlin and Gaius walk in. "Hello" Kaitie said kindly. "You must be Mr. Gaius. Although I appreciate you taking time to come and see me, I do apologize for having to summon you on such a simple matter. I have heard great things about you and I'm sure I will be better in no time!" she smiled at him "Tis my job to see to the well being of all in this castle- you of which are no exception. And please, my dear, call me Gaius" He said, smiling back at her. Kaitie turned towards Merlin "and thank you Merlin for taking the time to fetch him, as I'm sure you have better things to do". "Oh," Merlin responded "it was nothing".

As Gaius tended to her ankle, Kaitie and Merlin talked about life and him helping Gaius, and other things that anyone else would find boring, but seemed to interest her. While they did that, Arthur arranged an audience with the King. Arthur came in just as Gaius was packing up his things. "It's time" he said. "Are you ready?" Kaitie nodded her head, and the two set off, his arm wrapped around her to help her walk.


	4. Chapter 4

Arthur could see his father's defenses weaken as Kaitie retold her story, and he knew that he had him when she started to cry. "What household did you say you were from?" Uther asked. "The Hathaway household M'lord" she said. "and am I not mistaken when I say that that is a kingdom of magic?" he asked "It is M'lord" "and do you possess any magic?" he asked finally. "No M'lord" she said. "Well then," Uther began, but then paused. "Wait! You mean to tell me that you were of the Hathaway Household?" Kaitie nodded. "As in Claire and Robert Hathaway?!" Once again, she nodded. "I may not have visited the Hathaway Kingdom much due to my hatred of magic, but the King and Queen were my friends. It wasn't their daughter Lily you were speaking of when you described losing your friend in the forest, was it?" Again, she nodded. "Oh no. Arthur, send out a search party for the Princess. I want her found. As for you," he said looking at Kaitie "you are more the welcome to stay in the palace for as long as you need. Gwen will serve as your servant and you can use some of Morgana's old dresses. I'll make sure Arthur looks out for you, I promise. Oh and please join us for meals. We would love to have a fresh face dine with us, wouldn't we Arthur?" "Of course we would!" Arthur said, giving Kaitie a wink. She smiled. "Thank you my Lord. You have been more generous than I could have ever dreamed!" She said with a smile that stretched from ear to ear. "Are we done here sire?" Gaius spoke up. "I do believe so, why?" the king responded. "Because my lord, Kaitie is both physically and mentally exhausted and needs to rest." "Yes, of course" the king said "but where shall she rest until a room is ready?" "She can stay in my room" Arthur spoke up. "Very well" the king said, sounding tired himself. "Thank you M'lord" she said as she bowed and left the room (with the help of Arthur).

Kaitie slept through dinner but was up bright and early the next morning. As it was so early, the rest of the castle was still asleep. This gave her the chance to go and look through the library before she had to go to breakfast. Just as she turned down the corridor, however, she managed to run straight into a servant. "I do apologize m'lady" The servant said quickly as she curtsied. "Oh, no need to apologize! It was entirely my fault! In fact, I should be apologizing to you! What is your name? I'm Kaitie." "Oh, me?" the maid looked surprised "Guineviere. But please call me Gwen, everyone else does." Gwen smiled. "Oh, you're Gwen! The king generously said that you would be helping me while Morgana is away. I do apologize if this is inconvenient for you." Kaitie gave Gwen a small, tentative smile. "It is absolutely no inconvenience at all, M'lady! Since you're up, is there anything I can help you with?" Gwen asked, smiling back. "Oh, good. I do hope I won't be in your way. Please tell me if I am. And, yes actually, there is something you could help me with." Gwen tilted her head in interest, encouraging the young girl to go on. "The king said that I might be able to wear one of Morgana's old gowns? If you've no idea where they are, then please just tell me and I will wash this dress instead." "No, I know exactly where they are. They should actually fit you quite well!" Gwen smiled at Kaitie. "If you wait here for a few moments," she continued "I will go and fetch them." Kaitie smiled and retreated back into Arthur's room to wait. Soon enough, Kaitie was bathed and dressed in one of Morgana's old gowns. "Are you ready to go to breakfast M'lady? It is almost time." Gwen smiled. "Well... that depends. How do I look?" she giggled, twirling around the room. "Perfect." Gwen said with a smile. "Then could you perhaps lead me to the dining room?" Kaitie asked. "But of course!" Gwen responded, and soon the two were walking down the stairs arm in arm.


	5. Chapter 5

When Kaitie entered the dining room, she could see and smell every possible breakfast food ever made. There were meat and cheese platters, different kinds of bread, bacon, sausage, and everything in between. She took a deep breath and smiled to herself. Both the King and Arthur stood at her arrival and she looked at them both smiling. "Please, you don't have to stand on my account!" She said as she walked to her seat and sat down, allowing the two men to sit as well. "I apologize for starting, but I wasn't sure whether or not you were coming down to breakfast and I didn't want to take the chance of waking you to ask." Uther said, looking into her eyes as if trying to find some lost memory hidden behind them. "I would have been upset had you waited on my account. Really, you've been much to kind." She said, her eyes sparkling. "Kaitie," Arthur said. She looked up from the sausage she was trying to cut. "We were just discussing the search and rescue strategy for finding Lily. Neither of us think that you should come. It'll be much too dangerous" Arthur looked at her, expecting her to get upset or throw a fit. Instead all she did was look up remorsefully and say "Then when you don't find her today, or tomorrow, or whenever you search, and finally realize that she's either been kidnapped or is dead, then you will be the only ones to blame." she went back to eating her sausage. Arthur was extremely surprised at this behaviour. The well-mannered little girl that he known for less than a full 24 hours, who had already stolen his heart, who was one of the nicest people he's ever known, just told both his father, _who was the King, _and himself that they were making a grave mistake. His father seemed equally surprised at this behaviour and was about to say something when Kaitie began to cry again. Arthur rushed over to her side of the table and started to rub small circles on her back. Through the mangled attempts at what he assumed was breathing and talking at the same time, Kaitie finally calmed down enough to tell them why she was crying (even though tears still streamed down her face). "I am so sorry. I'm just really scared for Lily, and I don't know what I'll do if I lose her, and it's all my fault, and I don't know where my parents are, _or if they're even alive,_" Kaitie said between sobs. It took a while for Arthur to calm her down this time. When she was finally breathing normally again, she looked back and forth between their concerned faces, and her eyes welled up again. Arthur gave her a questioning look and she sighed. "It's just the thought that I sit here comfortably, with people who care whether or not I live or die looking after me while Lily could very well be starving in that forest. I'm sorry that I'm being such a bad house guest." she looked up a little, and saw only concern for her looking back. She smiled again and looked at Uther with big, hopeful eyes. "Very well, if you wish. Just be safe. Arthur, watch her like a hawk. I can't have two of them missing!" The king said, sighing regretfully. "Thank you, M'Lord!" Kaitie practically squealed.


	6. Chapter 6

Arthur was less than pleased with his father's verdict of allowing Kaitie to come with the search party, and if it were his choice to make, he would have made her stay back. Sadly, he couldn't and instead spent the day following Kaitie around with a group of soldiers. Just as they were about to turn back to the castle for the night, Kaitie in a desperate mood starting kicking over rocks, hoping for some sign of her friend. The she heard it. They all did. A scream. Not just any scream, but the kind of scream that can make blood curdle, your toes curl and your stomach upset. And it definitely belonged to Lily. Kaitie looked around frantically and, not seeing anything, walked up to Merlin with her hand out. "Merlin, may I have a bow and arrow please?" Kaitie was totally in control now. Merlin looked up at Arthur and saw him nod, so he gave it to her, Kaitie jumped on her horse. "Let's go save Lily!" she said, leaving the rest of the knights dazed and confused for a few seconds before they followed the young girl.

They galloped for a few minutes before final reaching the edge of a clearing. Kaitie could see Lily bound to a large stick, with her hands tied behind her back. She motioned for the rest of the knights to be silent as she dismounted her horse and begun to walk around the clearing. Arthur motioned for the rest of the knights to walk around the other way as he followed Kaitie. The pair found a good hiding spot behind a grouping of trees, and were soon in a ready position. Kaitie loaded her bow with an arrow when she heard a group of men coming out of the tent. She stood at the ready, awaiting a clear sight line to one of them. She and Arthur could hear their conversation, and it made her stomach turn. "What do you think we should do with this one? She isn't even the princess, just a friend. emSomeone /emjust had to let the pair out of our sights, and what do we have now? Noah's dead, the king is dead, the queen is as well as dead, her servant is dead, and the servant girl's father." They heard one of the bandits, presumably the leader, say. "Well... sir...uh... she could be fun to play with. It's been ever so long." Another bandit said. "Very well, have your fun." The leader responded. Kaitie could hear the bandits cheering as one stepped towards Lily. "Hey there little..." before he could finish, Kaitie had shot an arrow through his ear and into his skull. The bandits started to yell, and ran up to him. This gave Kaitie the chance to start picking them off one by one. When it looked like they were all gone, Kaitie ran out of her hiding spot to try to untie Lily, much to Arthur's dismay. Just as she reached the post, however, she saw an arrow fly right past where her hands had been about to untie her friend. She looked over to see the head bandit come out of the tent where he had been hiding, a demeaning smile plastered all over his face. She could tell that he obviously thought that he had won. But then she noticed. Her father was held beside him, a pained look on his face. She recognized how desperate the situation was now. "Don't shoot." The bandit said. "If you shoot, he dies. I've a knife to his back. It'll be a slow and painful death. Do as say, and no one will get hurt." Kaitie nodded. "First of all, call all of your men out of their hiding spot. It makes this game emso/em unfair" Kaitie motioned for the knights to come out, and one by one, they did. "Now, I want you to take off your-" before he could finish his sentence, his mouth opened wide and blood started to gush out. As he fell forwards, everyone could see the queen standing behind him, a bloody knife in her hand. She looked up and smiled. "I thank you all for coming." She said.

As the knights ran to free Lily, Kaitie ran over to her father. When the bandit had fallen forwards, he had taken her father with him. The wise and noble man she had always been proud of now lay on the ground, a knife plunged deeply into his back. She knelt down beside him and started to cry when she heard a voice. His voice. She looked down and saw his smiling face and shining eyes looking up at her. "Kaitie, my darling. Look after Lily for us, love your life, and remember that we'll always love you." With that he closed his eyes, and his breathing stopped. Kaitie looked down at him, her eyes welling up with tears. "I love you too" she whispered as she kissed his forehead. She heard Lily call her name, and turned to see Lily crying into the folds of the Queen's dress. Something was wrong. The queen was lying down, eyes closed. Then Kaitie had realized what had happened. The Queen had always said that if the King should die, then so should she, but of the pain of losing her dearest. Kaitie ran over to Lily and pulled her away from the Queen. All Lily could do was cry into Kaitie's shoulder, and although all Kaitie wanted to do was the same thing, she knew she must be strong for Lily. They collected the bodies of all those who had been kidnapped, and set off for Camelot.


	7. Chapter 7

The journey back to the castle seemed to be both longer and shorter than the ride there. No one was cheering, and the only noises that could be heard from that group were the sounds of Lily crying into Kaitie's shoulder as they rode back. No one seemed to know what to say, so no one said anything at all. When they eventually reached the castle, Arthur offered to help the girls off their horse, but neither felt like the help and slid off with the same amount of grace as before, yet with the slight hindrance of grief. Once the horses had been taken to the stables, Arthur rushed the girls in for a late night audience with the king.

After hearing their story, the king looked between the two girls, and then directly at Kaitie. "Why didn't you tell us that you were so good with a bow and arrow?" he asked her, a slight expression of amusement on his face. "Well... M'lord, I haven't been completely honest with you." She could feel the atmosphere in the room change almost instantly after she said it, all eyes turning to look at her. Uther motioned for her to continue and she took a deep breath. "I wasn't really specific enough when I said that I was a friend of the Princess. I mean, I am her friend, and I didn't lie when I said that we have known each other our entire lives, but there was a small detail I left out. I'm just as much her friend as I am her guardian." Uther shifted in his seat, and she took it as a sign to continue. "I was born almost a year before Lily, and I have always been protective of her, even when we were little. When I was about 6, it didn't really come as a surprise to anyone when the suggestion that I be made Lily's guardian came up. Everyone agreed that I would make the perfect guardian, and I soon begun training. My mother was a physician and she taught me all I know about medicine. My father was a knight and taught me how to fight. I trained with the kingdom's army once a week, but mostly my job was just to be Lily's friend and be there if she needed someone. I mean, who would suspect a little girl?" she looked at Arthur, who simply looked surprised, then at the king to see what he would say. "That's where I recognized you from! I remember once visiting your kingdom shortly after my wife had died. You and Lily ran in, playing some version of tag. The queen introduced the two of you to me and I remember thinking how cute Lily was. I reached out to pinch her cheeks, and you slapped my hand away, and told me not to hurt her." His voice got quieter as he went deeper into his memories. "That was the first time I had laughed since my wife died. I knew I recognized you!" he had a large smile plastered over his face in triumph. Arthur looked up at his father and cleared his throat. "Father, if I may...?" the King motioned for him to continue "It's very late and Kaitie and Lily need sleep. May I take them up to their rooms?" Uther nodded and Arthur led the girls to side by side rooms. Although, once Arthur had left, Lily quickly moved over into Kaitie's room and cried herself to sleep, cuddled into her best friend.


	8. Chapter 8

The next morning, Kaitie woke up at the crack of dawn as usual. She looked down at her best friend who lay curled up beside her and sighed. All she wanted to do was be alone for a while. So, she got dressed and decided to go for a walk the castle. She didn't really know where she was going until she found herself in the armoury. She picked out a sword and went out to the courtyard. The sun was just begging to rise, and she smiled to herself. It felt as if it had been forever since she had had a morning practice. She swung her sword around her body and lunged, pretending that she was facing an opponent. "Stay focused." She whispered to herself. "He is taller and stronger than you. Use your height and the element of surprise to bring him down. You can win if you focus" she could practically hear her father's voice in her head. She smiled as she lunged a fifth time, nailing her imaginary opponent in the stomach. "Care for a partner?" a voice said behind her. She turned to find Arthur standing behind her wearing his armor. "Only if you're ready to loose" she responded with a smirk. The two started to fight, Arthur trying to be careful not to hit her as she wasn't wearing any armor, and her taunting him about not being as good as he claimed. The two fought for many rounds before deciding that they were equally matched.

They sat down on the castle steps to take a break. Arthur looked at her, trying to figure out how to phrase what he wanted to say. He finally decided on "So, how are you?" Kaitie gave him a questioning look. "I saw you yesterday when we saved Lily. Instead of running over to untie her, you ran to the man the bandit had been holding. Was that your father?" All Kaitie could do was nod. "Do you want to talk about it?" Arthur asked, looking for some sign that she was ok. "No, in fact, we need to get back to practicing" she said standing up. Arthur sighed and followed her. Instead of straight practice this time, however, the two spoke and Arthur gradually broke Kaitie down about her father. Arthur stopped fighting for a minute and looked at his friend. "What's wrong?" she asked. "I don't know. Why don't you tell me? You're obviously upset, why don't you just talk to me?" Kaitie's eyes began to well up with tears. "Don't you see, I can't? I cannot cry. I have to be strong for Lily. She can't be alone right now. In fact, I should really get back to her. I should never have left. This was a stupid, stupid idea." Kaitie started to run up the stairs to the castle. Arthur could not think of anything to say to her outbreak, so he stayed quiet until she reached the top step. "Kaitie?" she turned around "Who's being strong for you?" . "I don't have that luxury." She responded and ran into the castle. "Kaitie, wait!" Arthur exclaimed, chasing her into the castle.

"Arthur had assumed when he had run after her that she would run to her room. However, when he entered, she wasn't there. He turned around, confused as to where she had gone. He walked around for a while before deciding that she may have put her sword away and that he should check the armory. Sure enough, when he entered the armory, he could see that the sword Kaitie had been using was laying on its stand. He was about to walk in when he heard the faint sound of someone crying. He walked around the corner of the room, to find Kaitie curled up in a small ball in the corner. He walked over and sat beside her. Neither said anything, as Kaitie lay her head on his shoulder and cried for what Arthur suspected to be the first time in a long time./p

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><p><strong>My darling readers, <strong>

**If you've made it to this point, I would like to thank you from the bottom of my heart. I cannot be more grateful**

**Please leave reviews, I'll love you forever.**

**Also, if you have any requests, please don't hesitate to ask!**

**XOXO,**

**Mack**


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